The income from Google Play application sales look as though they are primed to be twice as large this year.
This summer, Google Play’s mobile commerce successes raced forward as they exploded beyond the 50 billion app download mark, this summer, and this progress is only continuing onward, leading many to believe that this will be a doubly rewarding year for Android application revenues.
Developers have been working hard to both create and market quality applications.
Because of this, and a number of other factors, it looks as though the mobile commerce revenues from Android apps will be double, this year, what they were last year. The most recent reports from ABI Research have projected that the app revenues from Google Play alone will have broken the $6.8 billion mark by the close of 2013.
At the same time, the mobile commerce story at Google Play still hasn’t reached that of the Apple App Store.
The industry is still being lead by the mobile commerce app revenues over iOS devices, causing Android to continually play the catch up game regardless of its progress. At the same time, ABI stated that the current smartphone app market “will be Android’s most fruitful hunting ground compared to other devices.”
In fact, the ABI Research data has indicated that the app revenues from Android smartphone mobile commerce are expected to rise from 59.1 percent to 65.9 percent when compared to the revenues from iOS smartphone apps, over the period of the next full year.
Josh flood, an ABI senior analyst, explained that “Apple’s iOS still leads all the other mobile operating systems’ revenues by a significant margin; however, the greater number of Android smartphones in use is clawing back Apple’s lead in this market.” He pointed out that there will be a shift in the nature of this mobile commerce over throughout this year due to the popularity of Android devices and the massive growth in their shipments, particularly when compared to that of iOS devices. He also added that “This year, Android smartphones will ship by a factor of more than three-to-one to iPhones.”
Mobile games represent some risks for young consumers
As mobile devices become increasingly common among children, their exposure to mobile games is skyrocketing. This trend has not gone unnoticed by the game industry, of course, as many developers fashion games to specifically appeal to young consumers. While this practice is not often criticized, there are dangers that exist in the world of mobile gaming that could be considered to be exploitative to young children. In-game advertising is one such danger, as children often engage in ads that collect personal information from the users of mobile devices. In-game purchases are also another danger and it is not uncommon for children to spend significant amounts of their parent’s money while playing mobile games.
Patent outlines software system from Microsoft
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has made public a patent application from Microsoft that may help mitigate the dangers that face children in the realm of mobile games. The patent outlines a centralized system throughout which parents can monitor and restrict the activities of a mobile device. This could help parents keep their children from engaging in advertisements that collect personal information and keep these children from making frivolous purchases in their favorite mobile games.
Software could restrict features of nearly any mobile device
According to the patent, the software system can be set up on nearly any mobile device. The software will be able to monitor the activity of this mobile device and can alert parents when these devices are being used overnight or when a child visits a website that is considered off-limits. The software can also restrict the capabilities of a smartphone, allowing children to only call their parents or make use of emergency numbers. The system could also place major restrictions on the features of smartphones and tablets during school hours.
Lawmakers work to mitigate risks associated with mobile games
While mobile games are not malicious by nature, there are relatively few restrictions in place that are meant to protect the privacy of young consumers and limit the amount of money they can spend on these mobile games. In the U.S., federal lawmakers are working to improve security standards in order to ensure that mobile games do not exploit children and young adults.
